# G&H Bob's Chocolate Flake



## freestoke (Feb 13, 2011)

It says Latakia, but doesn't scream it. Chocolate only sounds its presence with an occasional motif repeating from time to time. It suggests burley, but burley doesn't undermine the Virginias at all. The occasional hint of vanilla is as distant as the Lakeland topping for which G&H is so frequently condemned. All in all, Bob's Chocolate an orchestration of flavor in synergistic resonance, a rich timbre of tastes and scents that sing from the bowl.

I have rubbed it out, but prefer to fold and stuff the flakes, found in the bag in the usual G&H jerky form, long and dark. One can smell chocolate, a hint of Lakeland, a little vanilla, but once put to the light they harmonize like spices in a fine bourguignon (if you can forgive yet another extended metaphor), the fine Virginias providing the beef, burley the mushrooms, Latakia the pearl onions, liquor topping the wine, chocolate and vanilla spicing up the gravy. 

Bob's Chocolate provides copious amounts of smoke, as opposed to say Glengarry Flake -- perhaps it's the Latakia. I like a lot of smoke per puff and Bob's Chocolate has plenty, creamy and delicious, with a decent level of Vitamin N. 

Fear not, it's neither a chocolate bar nor a campfire Latakia. Indeed, it's scarcely even one of the formidable Lakeland incense bombs, either. I'd call it a quasi-aromatic, but there's certainly nothing artificial or forced about the room note. It's a symphony of flavour and aroma (spelling in deference to the blenders) that everyone should at least give a go. Mainly, it's a fine flake that burns well and has the sweet taste of Virginias to the very end; like all the G&H tobacco I've smoked, it leaves nothing but dense white ash. One of my favorite flakes so far, although I admit to only limited experience with them.


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## Zeabed (Apr 23, 2009)

The tin of this stuff that I popped last week must have been filled with Ennerdale or something similar. I can only ascribe the smoke to a canning mistake, as all I got was Lakeland soap perfume. No latakia, no burley, no chocolate. Soap, and lots of it. Your description convinces me that my batch is the product of some mixup at the factory.


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## dmgizzo (Dec 13, 2010)

One of the first three pipe tobaccos I ever tried and it still remains in my rotation years later. Strangely I used to taste a lot more chocolate in it when my palate was less refined, now I find it similar to your experience, simply a nuance here and there.

Nicely written review, thanks !


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## owaindav (Mar 7, 2010)

Jim, I'm glad you reviewed this. I'm about to smoke it tonight and do a review. I've purposely not read yours so I can compare your thoughts with mine after I write mine.

Fun stuff!


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## CWL (Mar 25, 2010)

Zeabed said:


> The tin of this stuff that I popped last week must have been filled with Ennerdale or something similar. I can only ascribe the smoke to a canning mistake, as all I got was Lakeland soap perfume. No latakia, no burley, no chocolate. Soap, and lots of it. Your description convinces me that my batch is the product of some mixup at the factory.


Unfortunately, I think the topping process is very uneven. The flavors can be remarkably different depending on what part of the tobacco pan your slices come from.


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## Hellraiser (Mar 17, 2006)

Bob's Chocolate Flake has a place in my rotation, love it. I've been finishing off some that I packed away in mason jars about 5 years ago, it is really great with some age on it.


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## freestoke (Feb 13, 2011)

Originally Posted by *Zeabed*  
_The tin of this stuff that I popped last week must have been filled with Ennerdale or something similar. I can only ascribe the smoke to a canning mistake, as all I got was Lakeland soap perfume. No latakia, no burley, no chocolate. Soap, and lots of it. Your description convinces me that my batch is the product of some mixup at the factory._



CWL said:


> Unfortunately, I think the topping process is very uneven. The flavors can be remarkably different depending on what part of the tobacco pan your slices come from.


That might explain it. I have a bag of bulk, but I've heard the tins taste different than the bulk and might even differ from each other. This doesn't say much for the quality control, if true -- in either case, whether a single mixed up tin or a general problem with consistency.


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## Zeabed (Apr 23, 2009)

CWL said:


> Unfortunately, I think the topping process is very uneven. The flavors can be remarkably different depending on what part of the tobacco pan your slices come from.





freestoke said:


> Originally Posted by *Zeabed*
> _The tin of this stuff that I popped last week must have been filled with Ennerdale or something similar. I can only ascribe the smoke to a canning mistake, as all I got was Lakeland soap perfume. No latakia, no burley, no chocolate. Soap, and lots of it. Your description convinces me that my batch is the product of some mixup at the factory._
> 
> That might explain it. I have a bag of bulk, but I've heard the tins taste different than the bulk and might even differ from each other. This doesn't say much for the quality control, if true -- in either case, whether a single mixed up tin or a general problem with consistency.


If this is the case, cwl, then I must have grabbed a pinch precisely in the area of the tin where all the Lakeland floral soap was concentrated. But I got the impression that it was a batch mixup. Will ascertain later, very carefully.uke:


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## El Gringo (Nov 30, 2010)

I gotta say I love the stuff and its become my everyday smoke. I bought mine in bulk, (4 ozs), and liked it so much that I got a 500g box and jarred it up.
Thanks for the review, and looking foward to Daves also!


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## owaindav (Mar 7, 2010)

Unfortunately, it looks like I must've given the rest of what I had away. I'll have to review something else.


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## Exille (Mar 7, 2011)

Aquired a tin of this today and by god i hope it was either expired or it was a mixup in the packing department because the stuff i smoked was foul...was perfectly moist, packed and lit well but tasted like....nag champa incense i kid you not. I have it jarred up and am going to give it a couple months to rest and then try it again.....


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## Zfog (Oct 16, 2010)

Exille said:


> Aquired a tin of this today and by god i hope it was either expired or it was a mixup in the packing department because the stuff i smoked was foul...was perfectly moist, packed and lit well but tasted like....nag champa incense i kid you not. I have it jarred up and am going to give it a couple months to rest and then try it again.....


Have you smoked lakelands before this? I say this because when I first started smoking them, I hated the taste. It is.....well..... Different! Now they are in my daily rotation


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## Exille (Mar 7, 2011)

Well...as ive never experienced this essence in any of my other tobacs i suppose this would be my first foray into the Lakeland region.


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## freestoke (Feb 13, 2011)

Exille said:


> Aquired a tin of this today and by god i hope it was either expired or it was a mixup in the packing department because the stuff i smoked was foul...was perfectly moist, packed and lit well but tasted like....nag champa incense i kid you not. I have it jarred up and am going to give it a couple months to rest and then try it again.....


You're definitely not ready for Ennerdale. :lol: BC is a Lakeland. after all, and unless you expect it, I can imagine that it would be a shattering emotional experience to find something like that burning in your bowl. :lol: Thank god you didn't fire up the Dark Scented Flake! (Ennerdale would have driven you directly to the garbage can most likely, figuring somebody had maliciously sprayed it with insecticide.)

It has been noted that there seems to be some variability here. Mine was a bulk and possibly not as Lakeland as the tinned version. Frankly, I find it hard to reconcile what I was smoking with some of the hysterical reactions to this (at least in my case) pretty tame Lakeland. Possibly the Latakia-Lakeland double whammy was the problem, but it really doesn't have a lot of Latakia in it either, as Latakia blends go.


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## BrewShooter (Mar 17, 2011)

I have to say, my tin of it didn't really have much more than a hint of Lakeland to it. I did smoke it in my Lakeland pipe, but the only other Lakeland I've smoked is the Lakeland Brickle and I can clearly taste the floral flavors in that.


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## freestoke (Feb 13, 2011)

BrewShooter said:


> I have to say, my tin of it didn't really have much more than a hint of Lakeland to it. I did smoke it in my Lakeland pipe, but the only other Lakeland I've smoked is the Lakeland Brickle and I can clearly taste the floral flavors in that.


From what I've read, the Lakeland Brickle is some strange Lakelandesque concoction brewed up for pipesandcigars, not really one of the established purveyors of perfumed tobacco, like SG and G&H. I've never had any, but here's a thread on it:

http://www.cigarforums.net/forums/vb/general-pipe-forum/289729-lakeland-brickle.html

and here:

http://www.cigarforums.net/forums/vb/pipe-related-reviews/286774-h-h-lakeland-brickle.html


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## BrewShooter (Mar 17, 2011)

freestoke said:


> From what I've read, the Lakeland Brickle is some strange Lakelandesque concoction brewed up for pipesandcigars, not really one of the established purveyors of perfumed tobacco, like SG and G&H. I've never had any, but here's a thread on it:
> 
> http://www.cigarforums.net/forums/vb/general-pipe-forum/289729-lakeland-brickle.html
> 
> ...


Yeah, I've heard it's not an exact match and possibly a bit lighter than the SG and G&H blends. I do have a tin of Ennerdale, but haven't opened it yet. I actually like the Lakeland Brickle quite a bit.


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## jtree26 (Aug 20, 2008)

BrewShooter said:


> Yeah, I've heard it's not an exact match and possibly a bit lighter than the SG and G&H blends. I do have a tin of Ennerdale, but haven't opened it yet. I actually like the Lakeland Brickle quite a bit.


I really enjoy Ennerdale, much moreso than Bob's Chocolate Flake.


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